The Power of Love
by Ghetto-Kaiba09
Summary: Unbeknownst to Yuma and Astral, Zexal power created a little more than just a fusion between the two of them. Keyshipping mpreg.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so, I've been trying to come up with funny fanfic ideas for a while now. For some reason, I've been having a lot of trouble with this! It's Zexal, it shouldn't be that hard! Anyway, I've pondered the idea for a keyshipping mpreg for a while and figured, hey, why not? That could be funny! This will also be my first non one-shot fic that I've done in quite some time. So, here it is!

…

…

"Ugh," Yuma moaned as he exited the bathroom and retreated back up into the attic. He had been up and down all night with a sour stomach and wasn't quite sure why. He wasn't around anyone that was sick, nor had he eaten anything different.

"What's the matter, Yuma?" Astral asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and concern.

"It's okay, Astral, I've just got a stomachache." Yuma responded.

"Is that dangerous?" The spirit asked, noting how Yuma had his hand pressed against his abdomen in an effort to reduce the pain.

Yuma shook his head and crawled back up into his hammock. "Nah," He said. "Everybody gets one once in a while."

Astral nodded in understanding and floated closer to the boy.

"Is there something I can do?"

Yuma shifted in his hammock to fight off another wave of discomfort. He turned towards Astral.

"Not really, I just kinda have to sweat it out. Don't worry, Astral, it's fine."

Astral sighed and kneeled down towards Yuma, reaching out a hand and hovering it over the boy's forehead. Even though he couldn't touch Yuma, he could feel an impressive amount of heat radiating from him.

"Yuma," Astral began, still a bit concerned. "I believe you may have, what did you call it before, a fever? Your head feels warm."

Yuma ran a hand over his face and found that this was indeed true. 'Great,' He thought, 'I probably have the flu.'

"The flu?"Yuma jumped, he forgot that Astral could hear his thoughts.

"Yeah, it's called the 'flu'. I've only had it once before and it was _not_ fun."

Astral titled his head. "Perhaps you should inform your sister or your grandmother? I do not believe it is safe for you to attend school like this."

"But if I tell them then they'll make me stay home!" Yuma whined, "And if I stay home from school then that means I don't get to duel!"

Astral shook his head in disapproval. "Your health is more important than dueling, Yuma. Collecting the numbers can wait a few more days. I want you to get better first."

Yuma smiled at that. "Thanks, Astral. That means a lot."

Astral smiled back briefly before both boys turned their attention towards the attic's entrance and found Akari making her way up the ladder.

"Yuma?" She questioned with concern, "I keep hearing you in and out of the bathroom, is everything okay?""Not really, Akari. I think I might have something." Yuma answered quietly, his sickness taking a toll on his strength.

Akari frowned and walked towards him, Astral politely moving out of her way even though he knew she couldn't see him. She reached out a hand and pressed it against his forehead, then his cheeks, then his neck.

"Yuma!" She cried. "You're burning up! Here, let me get you some aspirin or something."

Yuma watched her exit the room and relaxed back into his hammock.

"Ugh," He moaned again, his hand returning to his abdomen and his face scrunching up with pain. Astral eyed him sadly, wishing there was something he could do.

"Here," Akari said, bustling back into the room as fast as she could, "Take these." She handed her brother two little white pills and a glass of orange juice, waiting for him to swallow before taking the glass from him and setting it on the table beside his hammock.

"Just stay in bed, okay? I'll let grandma know you're sick. There's no way you're going to school tomorrow." She said, leaning down to kiss his forehead before leaving the room once more.

"Do you feel any better?" Astral asked, hoping the medicine had brought some relief to the boy.

Yuma shook his head. "It takes a little while for the pills to kick in. I think I'm just gonna go to sleep."Astral nodded and bid him goodnight, floating back down to sit on the floor and gaze out the open window. Yuma began to drift off to sleep until a swell of nausea overcame him and he sprang from his hammock and ran back downstairs. Astral heard the bathroom door slam off in the distance. He sighed. 'Oh, Yuma.' He thought to himself. 'I hope you're really alright…'

…

"Come on, dear, you need to eat _something_." Haru said, setting a glass of water next to her young grandson's untouched bowel of soup. Yuma sat with both elbows on the table, his aching head in his hands as he stared at the meal his grandmother had prepared for him.

"No thanks, grandma." He said, "I can't even _think_ about food right now."

Haru smiled. "Well, you're definitely sick, then, aren't you?" She joked, sitting down in the chair beside him. "Trust me, dear, you'll feel much better."

Akari looked up from her computer at him from across the table.

"Grandma's right, Yuma," She said. "You'll never get better this way."

Yuma sighed childishly. "Fine." He picked up the spoon and tried a couple bites, frowning as his sick body fought to keep down the nourishment. "There."

Haru frowned, forcing the spoon back into his hand. "The whole bowel, Yuma."

"I really can't, grandma. I'll get sick."

Haru sighed. "Alright, but I want you to try again later. Go on back upstairs and lay down."

Yuma nodded and went to stand; however, as soon as his body was upright he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. His vision speckled and he collapsed to the floor.

"YUMA!" Haru cried. She and Akari ran to him, the latter shaking his shoulder gently. Yuma blinked his eyes open and stared up at the both of them in slight confusion. Astral watched from behind the trio with wide eyes, overwhelmed with concern.

"Woah…" Yuma whispered quietly, squinting his eyes a few times to adjust to the light. "What just happened?"

Haru had her hand over her heart in relief. "Oh, Yuma, dear. You fainted on us, are you alright?"

Yuma nodded as Akari helped him sit up.

"This is way worse than just the flu, grandma," Akari said. "We should get him to the hospital."

Haru nodded in agreement and helped her granddaughter aid Yuma in standing. Both woman wrapped Yuma in blankets and quickly ushered him out into the car. Astral retreated himself back into the key until Yuma had been transferred to a safer place.

…

Haru and Akari sat impatiently in the waiting room. Yuma had been taken back for examination over 45 minutes ago and no one had come out to confirm his condition. After what felt like several more hours of waiting, a doctor appeared from behind the ER's double doors and approached the family.

"You both are here for the young Mr. Tsukumo, correct?" He questioned kindly.

Akari and Haru nodded, the latter holding onto her granddaughter's arm for emotional support. "Is my grandson okay?" She asked urgently. "Please tell me my grandson's okay!"

The doctor raised both hands in an attempt to calm both woman. "Don't worry, Yuma's going to be fine. I've just come out here to discuss the situation with you."

Akari frowned. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"Well," The doctor began, looking around at the near empty waiting room to ensure that their conversation stayed private. "Yuma's test results are showing some rather peculiar information."

Both woman's eyes widened as they clung to each other, Akari waving her hand wildly and urged him to continue.

The doctor took a deep breath and leaned in closer. "Yuma's blood and urine samples are showing high quantities of the hormone hCG, or the Human Chronic Gonadotropin hormone. Now, the interesting part is that this hormone is only found in one place, a pregnant woman."

Akari's mouth dropped open and she forcibly suppressed the urge to laugh. "You cannot be serious. Are you saying my brother is…?"

The doctor inhaled again and nodded slowly. "An ultrasound has confirmed it for us. There is a living, breathing, embryo inside on Yuma. To put it point blank, yes, Ms. Tsukumo, your brother is pregnant."

Haru and Akari shared the same expression, eyes as wide as possible and mouths stuck open. Akari was the first to recover from the shock.

"But…but…but…Yuma's…Yuma's a BOY!" She cried, receiving a whack from her grandmother for being too loud.

The doctor shook his head. "Our staff is desperately trying to figure this out. We're just as confused as you two, but we're doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this. But I just want you to know that aside from all this Yuma is perfectly healthy and he is going to be just fine. Would you like to see him?"

The woman nodded vehemently and followed the doctor back into the ER.

…

…

Well, there's the first chapter! I'll try to update this thing as often as I can, hopefully once a week. I'm going to try to make this a dramedy. You know, a little bit of drama with a little bit of comedy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you at the next one!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying this so far! I'm updating because I have a day off from work and I love you guys, so here it is!

…

…

Akari and Haru followed the doctor down the busy hallway like zombies, clinging to each other and avoiding eye contact with the nurses and other patients. They came to a stop in front of a closed door, Yuma's room. The doctor turned to them and sighed.

"We haven't told Yuma the news yet. Out of respect, we figured we would ask the two of you what you would like us to do. Would you like to tell him yourselves or shall I?"

Akari and Haru glanced at each other, the elder spoke up first.

"I doubt he will believe us if we tell him. Perhaps it would be better suited if he hears it from a professional." Haru suggested.

The doctor nodded and motioned for the women to wait outside the door as he entered Yuma's room. There was the sound of the doctor's voice, followed by a loud "WHAT?" from Yuma and some muffled screaming. Akari and Haru's grip on each other tightened. The doctor began speaking again. More shrieks from Yuma and what sounded like gibberish as the boy tried to form a coherent sentence. The doctor exited the room.

"Well," He began, rocking back and forth on his feet and crossing his arms. "He's not taking it too well."

Akari face-palmed herself. "Of COURSE he's not taking it well! He's a 13-year-old BOY. How is this even going to work? He can't give birth!"

The doctor raised his hands in his own defense. "We're going to try to figure this out. Don't worry."

Akari opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking again. "Don't worry? DON'T. WORRY? How on earth are we not supposed to worry?"

Haru patted her arm. "Just calm down, Akari. We have to trust the doctor."

"Would you like to see him now? I think he could use the company." The doctor said, offering the women a comforting smile.

Haru smiled back and nodded, grabbing Akari's hand and dragging her into the room. They were greeted with the sight of Yuma lying back with his hands covering his face in shock. Akari was the first to approach him, tapping her index finger on his forearm.

"Yuma?"

Yuma peeked at her through his fingers and lowered his hands from his face. He stared up at Akari like a sad little puppy, the hurt in his eyes stabbing through her heart.

"Oh, Yuma, it'll be okay." She said softly, sitting herself on the bed beside him.

"No," Yuma whispered in disbelief. "No, it won't."

Haru moved to stand by his other side, stroking a hand through his hair.

"Yuma," She began. "Did - did someone hurt you? Is there something that happened that you're not telling us that could've caused this?"

Yuma thought for a second before shaking his head. "No. Nothing '_happened'_. I don't know what's going on!" He sobbed out the last sentence, his hands returning to his face as he began to cry. Both women hugged him tightly, glancing at each other and desperately trying to think of something else to say.

"Don't worry, Yuma." Haru said quietly. "We're going to help you get through this. Me, your sister and the doctors, okay?"

Yuma was quiet for a second before looking up at his grandmother and nodding, leaning his head on her shoulder. The family sat in silence until Yuma spoke up again.

"I think I just want to be alone for a little while to think. Is that okay?"

Akari and Haru looked at each other, both wondering if it was a good idea to leave the boy alone in such a distraught condition. They ultimately both nodded, standing up and walking out the door, looking back to give the boy one last comforting smile before closing it.

Yuma let his head fall back onto his pillow and he stared up at the ceiling, lifting up his right hand and resting it on his stomach. He sighed in both tiredness and annoyance, tracing circles with his index finger around his bellybutton. He was still in shock over the whole thing. How did this even happen?

"Yuma?"

Yuma jumped, lifting his head up to find Astral hovering over with his arms crossed. He groaned quietly.

"Not now, Astral."

"What is going on? Are you alright?"

"Astral, please, just leave me alone." Yuma rested his head back onto his pillow, closing his eyes and hoping Astral would take the hint and go away.

He didn't.

"Yuma? You are not dying, are you?"

Yuma grumbled to himself and turned onto his left side, away from Astral.

"Yuma? Please tell me you are not going to die."

"I wish." Yuma responded quietly.

This answer alarmed Astral slightly. "…Yuma? Please, I am worried, what is going on?"

Yuma sat up harshly and faced the blue spirit; a mix of hurt, anger, and shock flashed in his red eyes.

"You wanna know what's going on, Astral? Let me tell you what's going on. I'm pregnant. Yeah. Having a baby. Uh-huh. Something that only _women_ are supposed to do. So now I have to go through 9 months of this torture and spend the rest of my life caring for someone when I shouldn't be worrying about that for at least another 10 years! Great, huh? Now I'll be famous for being some kind of freaky medical marvel when I _should_ be trying to get famous for my _dueling_!" With that, Yuma threw himself back onto his pillow and sobbed, his hands once again covering his face. The beeping of his heart monitor increased.

Astral stared down at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open as he tried to process the information.

"Who did this to you?" He questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Yuma asked from behind his hands.

"Remember that talk we had before? It takes 2 people to make a baby, correct?"

Yuma dropped his hands into his lap and stared up angrily at the spirit.

"I don't know, Astral, okay? That's the whole problem!" He cried, turning back onto his side and away from the blue ghost.

The room was silent for several minutes, Astral watching as Yuma clung to his abdomen with his right hand, crying lightly to himself. Astral's mind was jumbled with thoughts until one realization struck him.

'_I wonder if…? No, that couldn't happen…'_

Yuma heard the thought loud and clear, his eyes snapping open as he sat up and faced Astral.

"What couldn't happen?" He asked with desperation. "What do you mean?"

Astral mentally slapped himself for forgetting the boy could hear his thoughts.

"N-nothing, Yuma."

"NO! What? Tell me!" The boy cried, leaning so close to Astral that the spirit felt the need to back away.

Astral took a deep breath. "Well…I was just thinking that perhaps something went wrong during our Zexal overlay."

Yuma's eyes widened madly. "Went. Wrong?"

"Perhaps when our bodies fused a portion of my energy was implanted inside of you and is starting to grow."

Yuma's mouth gaped open. "There's…there's another one of _you_ inside of me?"

Astral nodded slowly. "I believe that may be the case."

Yuma stared at the spirit in shock before he began screaming; shrieks of terror, confusion, shock, and anger raged from the boy. His fingertips curled and his entire body shook. Astral barely had time to register what was happening before the doctor, Akari, and Haru bustled into the room.

…

It had been almost 2 weeks since Yuma had been released from the hospital. He was confirmed to be almost 8 weeks pregnant with what he now knew was another Astral being. The initial shock and terror of the news had worn off and Yuma was slowly trying to accept his newfound fate.

He lay in his hammock gazing out his open window, his hand absentmindedly stroking his stomach. Astral observed him from across the room; he had spent that past 2 weeks feeling guilty that he had caused Yuma's current state and may have potentially gravely endangered the young boy. Astral gracefully floated over to Yuma, kneeling down so he was face-to-face with him.

"Yuma?" He whispered.

Yuma looked away from the window, bringing his other hand to rest under his head whilst continuing to rub his stomach.

"What is it, Astral?"

Astral sighed and stared at the boy with a great amount of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Yuma looked confused for a second before he sat up. "It's okay. You didn't know this was going to happen."

Astral looked down, he couldn't bear to look the boy in the eyes.

"I am worried that this could be dangerous for you."

Yuma smiled. "So am I, but I think I can handle it."

"I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you, Yuma." Astral said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I think perhaps you should…reconsider."

Yuma frowned. "What do you mean?"

Astral turned away. "I think you should have the child removed from you immediately. This is far too great a risk to take."

Yuma's eyes widened drastically and he leaped off of his hammock, moving to stand in front of Astral.

"You - you think I should…_get rid of it_?" He whispered the last part in disbelief. Astral nodded and smiled sadly.

"No way!" Yuma cried. "I could never do that!" Astral looked down at him in shock.

"But Yuma - "

"Look, Astral. I'm _going_ to go through with this. Just because I was freaking out before doesn't mean I can't handle it!"

With that, the boy stomped down the stairs from the attic, leaving a confused and worried Astral in the room by himself.

…

…

Well, there you go! Now, if you're wondering where exactly I'm going with this, I'm kind of going for a Twilight approach. I'm not a fan of Twilight at all, but I thought the premise of 'getting pregnant with this otherworldly baby that might be deadly' could be interesting for Zexal. So, I hope this chapter holds you over until the next!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey there, loyal fanfic followers! Thank you so much for all your reviews! I love you all so much that I decided to write you another chapter.

…

…

Yuma tugged at his school uniform irritably, the stiff fabric refusing to expand over his slightly bulging stomach. He stared into the mirror and jokingly compared himself to Tetsuo as a small portion of his midsection was now exposed.

Another 8 weeks of pregnancy had gone by, leaving Yuma now at 16. It had been a rough couple of months; Yuma found himself up and down all night long plagued by sickness and was forced to miss more days of school than he ever had in a whole year. On the days he was present, the other students expressed concern over their classmate's sudden illness, especially when Yuma would take off in the middle of his studies to locate the nearest bathroom.

Yuma rubbed his stomach and sighed. He knew he wasn't going to be able to hide the truth much longer; and he especially knew he wasn't going to be able to hide the _real_ truth much longer either. This wasn't a normal baby inside of him, after all.

Yuma fumbled with his tie and grabbed his backpack, adjusting the strap so the bag could rest more comfortably against his waist. Yuma felt like any another expectant parent; he wanted to be careful and make sure his baby was safe. Despite the situation, Yuma would be devastated if anything happened to the child.

He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen where his grandmother was preparing breakfast.

"Yuma, dear, are you feeling up to going to school today?" She asked.

Yuma nodded and waved his hand. "I'll be fine, grandma. Besides, I can't miss anymore school."

Haru nodded. "Akari's getting dressed, she's going to drive you. I don't want you walking that far in this condition."Yuma smiled and nodded, sitting up straighter as Haru sat a bowel of oatmeal in front of him. The elder smiled down at her grandson. She had noticed a small increase in his level of maturity since this whole thing had happened, and she was proud that he was brave enough to take it on without much hesitation. After Yuma had finished his meal, Haru watched as he sat back and rubbed his stomach lovingly. Yuma almost seemed - _excited_ - to be a father. She sat down in the chair next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm very proud of you, dear." She said softly.

Yuma wasn't sure what she meant by that, but smiled anyway.

"Thanks grandma."

…

Kotori eyed her friend strangely as she watched him exit the car, waving goodbye to Akari before approaching her.

"Yuma…?" She said with fascination, her eyes moving down to his protruding waist.

Yuma followed her eyes and gulped. "…Yes?"

"Um…what happened?"

Yuma shrugged sheepishly and began fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

"Wh-what are talking about? Everything's fine!"

Kotori noted the rounder shape his stomach had taken and her eyes widened. What was going on?

"Well, no offense," She began. "But…you've put on a little weight."

Yuma leaned back in feigned surprise.

"I have?" He said stupidly, still roughly tugging at his shirt. He looked down, cupping his belly in his hands and glancing up at Kotori.

"Well, what do you know, I _have_!"

"Are you okay?" Kotori asked, this time with concern. She noticed Yuma had only gained weight in one area of his body, while the rest of him retained his naturally thin state.

"We've all been really worried about you," She continued, her eyes still on his stomach. "And now that I'm seeing this…"

Yuma sighed. Kotori was his best friend. He knew he could tell her anything and she would keep it a secret. He looked around at the other students, not wanting any of them to hear the truth. Not yet, anyway. He grabbed her arm and began pulling towards a more secluded area.

"Come with me," he whispered. "I need to tell you something."They came to a stop behind the wall of the library where no other students could see or hear them. Kotori leaned towards him as Yuma continued looking around to make sure they were completely alone.

"What is it, Yuma?" Kotori asked worriedly. "Is everything alright?"Yuma took a deep breath, holding it for second before letting it out.

"Okay, um…wow, where do I start?" Yuma fumbled over his words, looking everywhere but at Kotori.

"Are you sick?" Kotori asked, her eyes tearing slightly. "Like, really sick?"

Yuma laughed a little, which confused Kotori. Her concern for her best friend increased drastically as he motioned for her to come towards him.

"I'm pregnant." He said matter-of-factly.

Kotori was quiet for a second before she burst out laughing. Yuma grumbled slightly and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to quiet her.

"Shh! Kotori…!"

"You - you're - you're _what_?" She said in between fits of laughter. "Come on, Yuma, I'm not joking!"

"Neither am I!" He shouted, startling her. Kotori stopped laughing and stared at her friend in disbelief. The seriousness and slight hurt in his face made her eyes widen.

"You're _pregnant_?" She whispered, the word making her cringe slightly. "But Yuma…you're - "

"…A guy, I know." Yuma said, annoyed. "But…the crazy thing is…" He began looking around again, concerning Kotori once more."What?" Kotori asked in slight desperation.

"It's not _human_."

Kotori instantly caught on and her mouth dropped open.

"YUMA!" She cried. "I thought you couldn't touch Astral!"

Yuma's face dropped and he brought a hand to his chest.

"N-no! I didn't-! We didn't-!"

Kotori began walking around in circles, trying to take in the information.

"Yuma! _Astral_ got you _pregnant_? What on _earth_ are you thinking doing _that_ with him? You're 13 years old! I can't believe you let him _do that_ to you!"

"KOTORI!" Yuma cried, once again gripping her by the shoulders and trying to calm her. Kotori stared at him angrily, forcefully fighting the urge to slap him.

"We didn't _do anything_." Yuma said in slight disgust. "That's not how this happened."

Kotori put a hand on her hip and motioned with her other arm for him to explain. Yuma pulled her towards him and began whispering the whole story into her ear. About Zexal and its creation of the baby. When Yuma pulled away, Kotori eyebrows were up into her hairline and her mouth was agape. She blinked a few times and shook her head rapidly as if trying to remove a disturbing image from her mind.

"…Wow." She said after a few minutes.

Yuma nodded in agreement, chuckling sheepishly.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

Kotori's shock then returned to concern. "Yuma, do you have any idea how dangerous this could be? You can't have a baby!"

Yuma raised his hands defensively and nodded.

"I know, I know. I've already thought about it. But I'm going to do go through with this." He smiled confidently, trying to reassure her.

Kotori sighed and then unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Yuma in a tight embrace. She could feel his bulging abdomen press into her own and this made her smile slightly. She reached down and rested her hand on his belly.

Yuma smiled back, reaching over his hand to cover hers on top of his stomach. They shared a comfortable moment of silence together until Kotori spoke up again.

"What does Astral think about this?" She asked.

Yuma looked away sadly. "He wanted me to…get rid of it."

Kotori gasped in shock, the hand covering Yuma's stomach moving to hover over her heart. "Oh, Yuma…" She whispered sadly, feeling another swell of concern for friend at the thought that Astral was not willing to take responsibility for the situation.

"It's okay, Kotori. He hasn't said much recently. I think he's just really upset." Yuma defended the blue spirit. It really wasn't Astral's fault.

Kotori sighed and nodded, hugging Yuma briefly again.

"We'd better get to class. Here, I'll walk you." Kotori lightly took his arm and pulled him away.

Yuma laughed. "Kotori, I can walk perfectly fine by myself."Kotori shushed him and smiled. "I'm just wanna make sure."

And with that the friends slowly began making their way towards their first class.

…

…

Well, there it is! I only really wanted to tell Kotori right now because I feel like she's the only one Yuma could really _really_ trust. The drama's going to start kicking up a little in the next chapter, but you'll just have to wait to find out exactly what that means! Until then, readers!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, guys! I've got some free time and wanted to write you all another chapter because you're all awesome and you deserve it! That, and I hate keeping you waiting.

…

…

Astral hovered over Yuma's sleeping form cautiously. He had spent a majority of the past few months inside of the key feeling guilty and worried about Yuma's pregnancy. He was plagued by terrible thoughts of what exactly could happen to the boy later on in time. There was a very high chance that the baby could, in fact, harm Yuma greatly. The child wasn't human and therefore it's behavior was completely unpredictable. Just because Astral wasn't malicious didn't mean the baby wasn't.

Yuma stirred lightly in his sleep, his nightshirt riding up and exposing his much fuller stomach. He was five months now; one month had passed since he had told Kotori, and only Kotori, about the pregnancy. Her reaction startled Astral; he was sure she would've been horrified, but she was actually being very helpful. Astral appreciated this as he did not feel he himself was offering Yuma the proper amount of support.

Kotori would visit Yuma everyday after school and discuss the prospects of parenthood, such as the gender of the child, what Yuma would name it, and how he would decorate the nursery. Despite the potential seriousness of the circumstances, Astral noted that Yuma always talked about these things with excitement and a smile. This brought Astral some relief. Maybe things would turn out okay after all…

"Ah-!"

Astral snapped out of his daze as Yuma suddenly woke and sat up in his hammock, clutching his stomach.

"Yuma!" Astral yelled in a whisper, backing up to give the boy some space.

Yuma didn't even seem to notice him as he continued to groan in pain, his hand tightening over his midsection as he fidgeted around in an attempt to stop the sudden discomfort. His face clenched and he gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down from his forehead. His body suddenly jerked forward and he yelped in pain again. Astral narrowed his eyes in concern and struggled to figure out what was going on.

Yuma's body jolted again, almost as if someone had shoved him from behind. He grasped his stomach with both hands and doubled over, whimpering in pain. The jerking continued until it stopped as suddenly as it had began and Yuma seemingly came back to reality. His hands relaxed and he looked up at Astral, dried tears staining his face.

"Yuma…!" Astral cried quietly. "What was that? Are you okay?"

Yuma blinked a few times and swallowed, taking a few deep breaths before answering.

"I-I don't know." He responded. "It almost felt like something was…_clawing_ at me. From inside me…"

"…The baby?" Astral questioned.

Yuma nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Astral's expression turned horrified. _Was _this creature trying to intentionally hurt Yuma?

Astral leaned towards Yuma. "Perhaps you should get to a hospital?"Yuma thought for a second and then shook his head, lying back down in his hammock.

"N-no. I think I'm okay. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning."

Astral sighed and nodded. "Alright. Try to go back to sleep."

Yuma agreed and turned over onto his other side, away from Astral. Once Astral was sure the boy was asleep, he transported himself into the key where he broke down into tears. His fear for the boy had been taken to a whole new level.

…

"Did you sleep well last night, dear?" Haru asked, pouring her grandson another glass of orange juice.

Yuma shrugged. "Not really. I think the baby's starting to…kick, or something."

Haru's eyes lit up. "Really? How exciting!"

Yuma faked a smile. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess."

Yuma took a sip from his glass and relaxed back into his chair. He rested a hand on his swollen stomach and sighed.

'Hopefully last night was just a freak thing,' He thought to himself. He looked behind him to see if Astral was there and was surprised to find the blue ghost yet again missing in action. He didn't want Astral to feel guilty anymore. He wrapped his fingers around the key, sending vibes of reassurance through it in hopes that Astral could feel them.

"Alright, dear, let's get you off to the doctor's!" Haru chirped cheerfully, handing Yuma his coat and preparing to lead him out to the car.

…

Dr. White, an older gentleman with gray hair and glasses, smiled at Yuma as he prepared him for his ultrasound.

"How are we doing?" he asked the young boy kindly.

Yuma smiled and sighed tiredly. "Well, I think it just started kicking last night."Dr. White's eyebrows rose and he nodded.

"That's great news," He responded. "The baby seems very healthy so far."

Yuma nodded. He hoped so…

Dr. White flicked on the machine and slowly moved the scanner around to search for the baby. Yuma looked up and watched the monitor with nervousness and fascination. He was curious to know exactly what this baby looked like…

Dr. White suddenly stopped when he found it. His facial expression turned confused and alarmed. Yuma moved his eyes from the monitor to study the doctor's face.

'Oh God…' He thought to himself.

Dr. White inhaled a slow breath and swallowed hard, leaning more towards the monitor and moving his scanner around a bit. His eyes narrowed as he examined the screen, looking for a clearer image of the baby.

Yuma hesitantly looked back towards the monitor. On the screen was the black and white image of a what looked like an odd shaped blob. However, it appeared to have arms and legs and the distinct shape of a head at the top. Yuma had never seen the ultrasound image of a human fetus before, but he knew quite well that it certainly didn't look like _that_.

Yuma tried his best to distill the awkwardness.

"Is something wrong?" He questioned innocently.

Dr. White snapped out of his daze and smiled down at the boy.

"Oh, no, no." He lied. "I think maybe its just…turned a different way, or something. It doesn't want us to see it just yet. Some babies like to hide."

Yuma nodded and eyed the monitor again and saw that the baby was starting to move in a slow circle around his stomach. Without warning, he felt another jolt of pain hit against his abdomen.

"Ugh-!" He moaned, clutching a hand to his stomach and sitting up slightly. Dr. White immediately stopped his examination and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, trying to calm him. The merciless pounding continued with what now felt like 2 fists striking his insides. A particularly hard jolt hit against his rib and Yuma shouted in pain, tears leaking from his dazed eyes. Yuma could faintly hear Dr. White calling for his associates and scurrying out of the room before everything went black.

…

When Yuma awoke, he found himself back in the emergency room lying on a bed with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. Off in the distance, he could hear Dr. White and his grandmother talking outside the closed door.

"…_his ribs are bruised. I've never seen anything like this before…"_

"_What do you mean 'you've never seen anything like this'? What on earth is happening to my grandson?"_

"_Ma'am, trust me, we're trying everything we ca-_

"_Well try harder! If anything happens to him…"_

Yuma rested his head back onto his pillow, removing the oxygen mask from his face and rubbing his eyes. He set a hand on his stomach and waited to see if anything would happen. Nothing. He sighed in distress and annoyance.

'Please,' He thought to the child. 'Please, stop this. I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't hurt _me_. I-I love you, okay?'

Tears began to form in his eyes until he felt another unfamiliar occurrence in his stomach. But this time, it wasn't painful. It almost felt like a tiny hand gently caressing his insides, trying to comfort him. Yuma smiled and stroked his fingers along his skin.

'See? That's better, right?' He whispered to the child, this time out loud. He decided to repeat the words again. 'I love you.'

The motions continued and Yuma laughed quietly, mimicking the child's actions with his own hand. A small glimmer of hope ran through him. After a few minutes, the caressing stopped and he could slightly feel the child move itself upwards towards his ribs, rubbing itself against them and relieving the stinging discomfort.

Yuma chuckled softly. 'Thanks,' He whispered. All movement stopped completely and Yuma lay his head back and drifted off to sleep. He had failed to notice Astral floating behind him with an expression of horror and concern, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He had witnessed the entire ordeal from inside of the key. Every fear he had for Yuma seemed to be coming true, and he deep down he felt that the worst was yet to come…

…

…

DUN DUN DUNNNNN! Well, there's chapter 4! I told you it'd be dramatic! The comedy will come intermittently, I'm just trying to focus on the drama for a little while. I have plenty of wonderfully gory ideas for later chapters, but I think I'll give Yuma a break for a bit. Maybe… Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this and I'll see you at the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, all! Thanks for all your reviews! I never expected to get THAT many! You're all awesome, which is why you totally deserve another chapter.

…

…

"…And this is Gagaga Magician. He's probably my favorite monster. Well, except for Hope, of course. I can never decide between the two of them. I guess I've got a pretty strong bond with Baby Tiragon, too. He was a gift from one of my friends…"

Yuma rubbed his full stomach and smiled as he discussed all the components of his dueling deck with the baby. He had come to find that talking with the child seemed to ease some of the anxiety he had about whether or not the baby was dangerous. He was still worried, but he felt that if he formed a strong connection with the child then perhaps everything would turn out alright.

"You know," He continued. "My dad gave me this deck. Hopefully you'll get to meet him someday! I sure miss him…"

Yuma felt a light tapping against the front of his stomach and took it as a sign of comfort.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm sure he and mom will be back someday. Boy, I'll have a lot of explaining to do, that's for sure! I guess I have a lot to do, anyway. Akari and grandma don't know about Astral yet…"

Yuma continued to ramble on, telling his baby stories about anything he could think of; his childhood, his friends, his family. What it was like to go to school. His favorite foods. His favorite color.

"Blue is defiantly my favorite color. You wanna know why?"

A little hand brushed against his insides, urging him on.

"Well…" Yuma looked around to make sure he was completely alone. "It's because of Astral. He's your dad, you know. And don't worry, I know he's been really upset about this whole thing but I promise you he loves you just as much as I do…"

Yuma tightened his hold on his growing stomach and leaned back onto his arms, gazing out the window and enjoying a brief moment of silence.

Very brief.

"Yuma?" Akari called from downstairs. "Are you still up?"

Yuma carefully picked himself up off the floor and gathered up his cards so Akari wouldn't see them.

"I-I was just about to get in bed, sis."

Akari poked her head through the hole in the attic floor and gave her brother a condescending look.

"You need as much rest as you can get, Yuma! Staying up all night isn't good for the baby."

Yuma turned his head and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

With his sister's help, a now 6 month pregnant Yuma slowly made his way down into his room. His _real_ room. He had been forbidden by both Akari and his grandmother to sleep in his hammock because it did not offer him the proper amount of support for the baby. Yuma kissed his sister goodnight and climbed into bed.

Yuma lay in silence for several minutes, his body having trouble shutting down for the night. He tossed and turned, struggling to get comfortable. He settled on his right side, facing the wall, with 2 pillows under his head and another between his knees. He sighed in frustration.

"At least I won't have to deal with this for too much longer…" He mumbled to himself tiredly.

He felt a light kicking inside his stomach.

"No, no," He whispered, his hand stroking the skin above his now slightly protruding bellybutton. "It's not your fault."

More silence. Yuma continued the gentle caressing of his hand against his skin.

"I can't wait to meet you…" He whispered into the dark. A tear came to his eye. He had been feeling especially emotional as of late. The initial shock of the past month had worn off and Yuma now felt an immense pressure to care for and love the child even more.

"Yuma, your sister told you to go to sleep. Why are you still awake?"

Yuma turned irritably onto his other side to stare up at Astral.

"Hey," he said playfully. "I'm trying to have some time _alone_ with my baby."

Astral cocked his head.

"It is my baby, too." He replied, a bit sadly.

Yuma was a bit taken aback by that.

"Ha! All of a sudden you're _just now_ acknowledging this?" He retorted.

Astral inhaled and exhaled a slow breath, contemplating his thoughts.

"I _have_ been acknowledging it. Just not vocally."

Yuma sat up in his bed, adjusting his pillows so they now rested against his lower back.

"Well, for your information, I could've - _we_ could've really used your support these past couple of months."

Astral bowed his head guiltily.

"I guess I just was not comfortable with the situation. I'm still not, to be honest. Deep down I still hold a terrible feeling…"

Yuma stared up at him in confusion, his hand returning to his swollen stomach.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" He asked fearfully.

Astral lowered himself to sit next to Yuma on his bed. He crossed both his arms and his legs and turned his head away from the boy.

"I still do not trust that this child is 100% harmless. Just because the events of last month have not happened recently doesn't mean everything is okay. I understand that you are trying to build a relationship with the child, but I truly believe that this creature could still hurt you if it wanted to, regardless of whether it cared for you or not."

Yuma's mouth was open slightly in shock. He fought to find a response to Astral's statement.

"Well, maybe you're just over thinking things, Astral. I mean, come on, _you've_ never hurt me! Why would the baby?"

"Yuma, we Astral beings are unpredictable and solitary." Astral replied, a bit angrily. "We have our own thoughts, our own motivations…this one may be…vengeful."

"Vengeful…for what?" Yuma asked.

Astral was quiet for a second.

"That…I do not know. We will have to wait and see. Besides, as your sister has said before, how are you going to birth the child?"Yuma shrugged.

"I'll just have a C-section, I guess. It'll be fine Ast-

"I don't think it will be that easy…" Astral interrupted. He looked away from Yuma again and towards the floor, tightening his arms against his chest.

Yuma gulped a bit before asking: "Well…what do _you_ think could happen?"

Astral looked back towards Yuma and the boy was surprised to see a tear making its way down the alien's face.

"It may _force_ itself out of you."

"F-force? Like…" The events of the last month played through Yuma's mind again. The clawing…the punching…

Yuma shook those thoughts and quickly tried to lighten the mood.

"Hey, Astral," He cried, scooting himself towards the spirit. "You wanna feel?"Astral blinked in confusion. "Feel what?"

Yuma leaned back and gestured towards his stomach.

"I can't…" Astral said, a bit disappointed.

Yuma frowned. "Try!"

Astral waited a few seconds before smiling and reaching an arm towards Yuma's stomach, his hand hesitantly pausing halfway through before he finished the motion. However, before he could even reach the boy's skin a sudden jolt of what felt like electricity flashed through his hand and he quickly pulled his arm away.

Yuma eyed the spirit's confused and frightened face.

"What happened?"Astral looked at the boy with concern.

"You didn't feel that?" He questioned with urgency.

"Feel what?" Yuma asked.

Astral narrowed his eyes and cocked his head.

"There was a strange…energy. I guess I _do_ have a connection to this child."

Yuma smiled."You should, you're the father!" He joked happily.

Astral smiled back at the boy, but deep down his heart was aching with worry.

…

…

Alriiiiight! I'm stopping there! At work last night I got this pretty interesting idea for a plot twist that would detail as to why the baby could be 'vengeful', as Astral explained. But, we'll get to that soon. I know, more suspense! But that's what keeps the story interesting! Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you at the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello my loyal readers! I've decided to update sooner because, well, I just hate making you wait! 2 of you totally guessed my little plot twist idea (Black Mist), but I'm sure it was kind of obvious anyway. I'll be starting that at the end of this chapter. Well, no sense in keeping you waiting so here goes!

…

…

"What do you think of this one?" Kotori asked, holding up a jungle-themed wallpaper sample to a nearly 7 month pregnant Yuma. A pile of rejected wallpaper ideas sat behind her.

"I love it!" Yuma cried happily. "It'll totally match with the crib that Akari bought. She and grandma are going to pick it up for me today."

Kotori clasped her hands together and smiled joyfully.

"I'm so excited for you, Yuma!" The girl squealed. "Did you think of any names yet?"

Yuma shrugged. "I'm not sure what I want to name it just yet. Besides, I don't even how I'll be able to tell what gender it is! I mean, look at Astral, he's a male but…you know…" Yuma gestured to the area below his waist and Kotori laughed.

"What did the doctor say?" She asked.

"He's just assuming it's a girl." Yuma replied, looking down at his growing stomach. "How is everybody at school? Are they asking about me?"

Kotori nodded. "Everybody's been really worried about you, but don't worry, I just keep telling them you're going to be out for a while but that you'll be back soon."

"You didn't tell anyone else about this? Tetsuo…or anyone?" Yuma asked.

"I didn't think it would be very polite of me to tell everyone your business. I wasn't sure if you wanted them to know, you know, the truth." Kotori said,

Yuma nodded and smiled at her.

"Thanks a lot, Kotori. That really means a lot to me. I'll tell them eventually, I just don't feel ready right now."

Kotori gathered up the discarded papers from the floor and stuffed them back into her bag. She pulled out a magazine and began showing Yuma different ideas on how he could decorate the nursery. After a while Yuma's mind began to wander a bit. He began thinking about everything that Astral had told him before. About how the baby could harm him and how he could possibly give birth to it. Kotori noticed the change in his facial expression and she reached out a hand and tapped him lightly on the arm.

"You okay?" She asked concernedly.

Yuma shook himself out of his daze. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell Kotori any of this information for fear that it would upset the girl. He fought with himself for several seconds before deciding that perhaps it would be best to share his fears with someone.

"Well, I'm just thinking about some things that Astral's been telling me." Yuma said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Kotori asked. "What kind of things?"

Yuma sighed and rested his hand on his stomach.

"He keeps insisting that the baby is trying to hurt me, or something. And that when I give birth to it it's going to, like, literally tear itself out of me…"

Kotori's eyes widened drastically and she raised both hands to her face in shock.

"Why on earth would he tell you something like that? Is he _trying_ to upset you?" The girl questioned angrily.

"I don't know," Yuma responded, a bit disgruntled. "I wish he would just let it go. There was only the one day that the baby started acting strange, but once I started talking to it, it stopped. I'm hoping that if I can form a little bit of a bond with it then everything will turn out okay."

"Don't let it bother you, Yuma." Kotori insisted. "You're in no condition to be getting upset."

"I know, but…" Yuma started, looking down into his lap and closing his eyes in thought.

"What…?" Kotori rested a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"The other week he tried to touch my stomach and he said he felt some kind of weird energy, but I couldn't feel anything. I think he knows something I don't…" Yuma sighed worriedly and began lightly stroking his stomach.

Kotori looked around the gloomy attic. "Is he here?" She asked.

Yuma shook his head. "No. He doesn't come out of the key that much anymore, and when he does he always has the same conversation with me: that the baby could be dangerous and he's worried about me and all that. He's being really…overprotective. He was never like that before."

Kotori cocked her head eyed her best friend sadly. She struggled to find some comforting words to offer him, but couldn't find any. After another brief moment of silence, Yuma spoke up again.

"Just the other day he told me again that I should get rid of it." Yuma said, barely above a whisper.

Kotori gasped. "What? That's like, the second time he's said that! You're almost 7 months now, why would you do that?"

Yuma sighed angrily and rested his head in his hands.

"I don't know! I'm just so torn right now. I love this baby, I really do, but…I just don't know what to do anymore!" Yuma cried, immediately breaking down into tears.

Kotori hugged her friend tightly, rubbing her hand up and down his spine.

"Don't worry, Yuma. You know what it is? I bet Astral's just feeling guilty because he sort of caused this whole thing and he doesn't want the responsibility."Yuma looked up at her, a tear dripping down from his chin.

"You think so?"Kotori nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you should tell him that. It might help him face whatever fears he's having about all this."

Yuma swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, smiling at Kotori.

"I think I will. Thanks, Kotori."

"Yuma!" Haru called from downstairs. "We're home! Come on down."

Kotori smiled at her friend and helped him to stand, guiding him towards the stairs and down from the attic. They passed by the mirror in Yuma's room and he paused.

"Ugh," He grunted in annoyance. "Look at me! I swear, I'm fatter than a beached whale."

Kotori scoffed at her friend. "No you are not! I happen to think pregnancy is beautiful on you."

Yuma laughed. "Now is really not the time to flirt with me, Kotori."

Kotori blushed. "I wasn't flirting!"

Haru smiled at the two teenagers as they slowly made their way downstairs.

"Wow," She said with a laugh. "I think that was the fastest you've ever made it down here, dear."

"Eh, I had help this time." He gestured towards Kotori with a smile.

Haru patted the young girl on the shoulder.

"I didn't realize you were coming over, Kotori."Kotori smiled, clasping her hands behind her back.

"I figured Yuma could use the company. Plus, I wanted to help him pick out the wallpaper for the baby's room!" She pulled the samples out of her backpack and showed them to Yuma's grandmother.

"Oh, aren't these lovely!" Haru said cheerfully. She turned to Yuma. "Which one did you like, dear?"Yuma smiled. "I think I'm gonna go with the jungle one. It seems pretty neutral to me."

Haru smiled brightly at her grandson. "What a good choice! It's just like the one you had in your room when you were a little boy!"

Yuma smiled sheepishly and blushed in embarrassment. Kotori giggled to herself.

"Isn't he still a little boy?" She joked.

Haru chuckled. "Aw, my little baby is having a little baby!"

Yuma grumbled and hobbled his way over to the couch.

"Are you guys done teasing me yet?"

The front door opened again and Akari came in, dragging a large box behind her.

"Gee, thanks for the help, guys." She said sarcastically.

Kotori and Haru moved to help the girl prop the box against the wall.

"Is that my crib?" Yuma questioned, somewhat excitedly.

"Yep!" Akari said. "I'll set it up for you in a couple of days. I've got some work to finish."

"Thanks, sis," Yuma said sincerely, standing up and moving to hug his big sister.

Akari's eyebrows shot into her hairline.

"Yuma," She began, "Since when do you _willingly_ hug me?"

Yuma shrugged. "I don't know, I just feel like I owe you guys for taking care of me all this time."

Akari smiled and laughed as she struggled to wrap her arms around her little brother, his full stomach preventing them from embracing completely.

"You're really growing up," She whispered to him. "I'm proud of you, Yuma."Yuma smiled up at his big sister. "Thanks."

Haru set a hand on both her grandchildren's shoulders.

"What do you say I make us some dinner?" She turned to Kotori. "You're more than welcome to stay, Kotori, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Mrs. Tsukumo!" She cried. "I'd love to."

Haru smiled at the trio and wandered off into the kitchen, Akari and Kotori each taking one of Yuma's hands and leading the boy after her.

"You guys!" He whined. "I'm pregnant, not crippled!"

The group laughed as they sat at the kitchen table while Haru prepared their meal. All of Yuma's anxiety and worry was forgotten as he spent some meaningful time with his family.

…

Astral rested himself against one of the gears of the key's machine, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. His thoughts were plagued by worry and fear. His young counterpart was in grave danger.

"So," A voice above him called. "How is your little friend?"

Astral's eyes snapped open and he turned his head upwards towards Black Mist.

"Please stop this," Astral begged.

Black Mist chuckled. "Stop what?" He said with feigned innocence.

Shortly after the beginning of Yuma's pregnancy, Astral began to feel a strange vibe that something could go terribly wrong. All of this suspicion rang true when he went into the key one day and discovered that the number 96 card was missing. Black Mist had been inside the key the entire time and was able to retrieve the number and his powers. The wicked spirit vowed revenge against Yuma and Astral following the disappointing outcome of his duel with Tetsuo, and when he discovered Yuma was pregnant, he implanted a piece of the evil number inside the child.

"Your grudge is with me," Astral continued. "Leave Yuma and the baby alone."

Astral had been aware of Black Mist's plan the entire time and fought desperately with Yuma to get him to abort the baby, an action which Yuma vehemently refused. Astral did not want to tell Yuma the truth and so he worked his way around it, telling the boy all the horrendous things that could happen to him if he continued with the pregnancy, trying to scare him in hopes of talking some sense into him. Yuma continued to refuse, his love and connection to his child remaining strong.

"It's not much longer now, is it?" Black Mist taunted, crossing his arms and floating into a sitting position.

Astral growled under his breath. "I'm telling you, leave them alone!"

Black Mist wagged his finger and shook his head. "Astral, Astral, Astral," He said sarcastically. "You've had plenty of time to fix this."

"Yuma won't listen to me!" Astral practically yelled. "He's not giving up the baby."

Black Mist shrugged, bringing a hand to his face and examining the claws on his fingers much like a teenaged girl would her manicure.

"Pity. Stupid boy, I guess he'll learn his lesson in another month or so. Of course, he'll be dead by then." Black Mist taunted, looking away from his hand and down at his blue counterpart.

Astral clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging into his palms. He gave Black Mist the most vicious glare he could before scampering away and preparing to confront Yuma once again, before it was too late.

…

…

Well, there you have it! To sort of summarize what exactly is going on here, Astral has known about Black Mist implanting the number into the baby the entire time, which is why he's been trying to convince Yuma to get rid of it and telling him all of these stories about what could happen to him. The number is what was making the baby behave erratically a few chapters ago, and was also the jolt of energy Astral felt in the previous chapter - just incase anyone got confused! I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time…


	7. Chapter 7

Hello, readers! Thanks again for all your reviews! Without further ado, here's chapter 7!

…

…

Yuma slumped down into the kitchen chair, rubbing his stomach and smiling.

"Thanks, grandma," he said. "That was delicious!"

Haru smiled at her young grandson and moved to stand behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"You are most welcome, dear."

Yuma enjoyed light conversation with Kotori and his family until he felt someone behind him. He turned slightly to stare over his right shoulder where he found Astral. He tried his best to ignore the blue spirit so he wouldn't catch the attention of his sister and grandmother.

"Yuma!" Astral shouted in a whisper. "Yuma, I need to speak with you immediately."

Yuma growled under his breath and fidgeted in his chair. He waved his hand at him, trying to get him to leave. Astral moved to Yuma's left shoulder and repeated the process.

"Yuma…!" He called. "Now! It's urgent!"

Yuma rolled his eyes and turned himself towards the spirit again.

"Astral," he whispered. "This is not the best time, okay? We can talk later."

Astral ran his hands over his face in distress.

"Yuma, please, we must talk now!"

Yuma shot the spirit an angry look before turning towards his grandmother.

"I'm kinda tired, I think I'm gonna go lay down. May I be excused?" He inquired politely.

Haru nodded and smiled softly at her grandson.

"Of course, dear. Do you need help getting back upstairs?"

Yuma shook his head. "No, thanks. I'll be fine."

Yuma backed his chair up and slowly lifted himself out of it, gripping his hands tightly on the table for support. He hobbled his way towards the stairs, one hand on the railing and the other on his stomach. He opened and shut his bedroom door a bit angrily, flicking on the lights and sitting down on his bed. He most certainly wasn't even going to attempt getting up into the attic by himself.

Yuma crossed his arms and frowned in annoyance.

"Okay, Astral. What do you want?"

"Yuma," Astral began, "I have something very important to tell you…"Yuma motioned with his head for him to continue, his arms still crossed tightly across his chest.

Astral inhaled and exhaled a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes and giving Yuma a guilty smile.

"First of all," He started, "I would like to apologize…"

Yuma cocked his head and his eyebrows lowered.

"For what?"

Astral swallowed. "I…have been keeping something from you…"

The blue spirit bowed his head, fighting with himself over whether or not to continue. He wanted Yuma to know the truth, but he also wanted to protect him.

"I knew it." Yuma muttered under his breath.

Astral looked up quickly. "What?"

"I knew you were hiding something!" Yuma cried, this time much louder. "That's why you've been staying in the key all this time."

Astral looked away; he couldn't bear to look his partner in the eyes. He was right, after all.

"Yuma-"

Yuma raised a firm hand and cut him off quickly.

"No, you know what, Astral? I really don't even want to hear it. Kotori was right, you just can't accept that this whole thing is you're fault. _Everything_ is you're fault! You may not want the responsibility of parenthood but guess what, I _do_, so from now on, anything and everything having to do with the baby, you just stay out of it!"

Yuma rose from his bed and headed back towards the door, Astral reached out a hand to try and stop him but he quickly pulled it away.

"Yuma, please!" He cried desperately.

"NO!" Yuma screamed harshly, collapsing to the floor and bursting into tears. "Just leave me alone!"

The sound of footsteps suddenly started in the stairwell, growing louder until they reached the outside of Yuma's room. The door flung open and Akari bustled her way in.

"Yuma!" She cried worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Haru was quick to follow her, Kotori trailing behind. The young girl suspected she knew what was going on and hovered a hand over her heart.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Haru shouted, joining her granddaughter on the floor in an attempt to console her grandson.

Yuma continued to cry as he sat on hands and knees on the floor, his fingertips digging into the carpet. He was completely oblivious to the outside world as his emotions overcame him.

"I want him to go away!" He screamed. "I want him to leave me alone!"

Haru and Akari exchanged horrified looks before turning to Kotori who quickly looked away.

"Who…?" Akari questioned.

"_Him_!" Yuma shouted, his left index finger pointing upwards towards Astral, whom in the moment he had forgotten was invisible to the rest of the room.

Haru petted a hand through her grandson's hair.

"Yuma, dear, there's no one there…" She said with concern, looking up at the area in which Yuma was implying.

Kotori fiddled with her fingers uncomfortably. She knew Yuma was in no condition to properly explain the situation, and so she bravely stepped forward.

"I know what's going on." She said quietly, turning the other women's attention towards her.

"What is it, Kotori?" Akari asked, still absentmindedly rubbing a hand up and down her brother's back.

Kotori took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. She sat down on the floor next to the group and joined them in consoling Yuma.

"Well," She started. "Yuma's key, you know, the one your parents gave him?"Akari nodded, her mouth slightly agape as she eyed Kotori with confusion and concern.

"There's this…spirit…that lives inside the key," Kotori continued. "His name is Astral. He and Yuma have this special bond where only Yuma can see him. And, well, they have this power called 'Zexal' which when they duel lets them combine their bodies. That's how this whole thing happened. Some of Astral's energy stayed inside Yuma."

Akari eyed Kotori, unblinking. Her facial expression changed several times over the span of a few seconds as she struggled to process the information. She suddenly started to laugh in disbelief, bringing her face down in front of Yuma's.

"Is that…true?" She questioned her brother.

Yuma nodded, still silently crying to himself.

Akari sat back and stared up at the place where Yuma had directed earlier.

"Is he still there?"Yuma looked up and sure enough, he was. Astral floated in his usual position with his arms crossed, except his eyes were squeezed shut and his face was stained with tears. Yuma suddenly felt guilty for his outburst. Maybe he was wrong… He nodded slowly up at his sister and the room turned eerily silent.

The quiet moment didn't last long as Akari stood off the floor and approached the seemingly empty space. Out of nowhere, she screamed and began throwing punches at thin air, his arms lashing and gesticulating wildly.

"You think you can mess with _my_ brother, huh?" She shouted, her violent rage continuing. "Well, you were _wrong_! You leave him alone!"

Akari continued to shout words of hatred and disgust into the air, the occasional obscenity coming out as the rest of the group watched her in shock. Yuma latched an arm onto her leg in an attempt to get her attention.

"No, no, it's okay!" He cried. "Akari! Stop!"

Akari halted her actions and stared down at her little brother.

"H-He didn't hurt me, Akari! He's my friend!" Yuma asserted. Akari lowered herself so she sat face to face with her brother, her hands rising and gently resting on his cheeks.

"Yuma, don't lie to me…" She muttered angrily.

Yuma quickly shook his head.

"He didn't. I was just yelling because I was angry." He turned to Kotori. "Kotori, I know you think Astral doesn't want the baby, but deep down I know he does." Yuma turned his attention upwards to the spirit, who was nodding his head profusely and forcefully wiping away his tears. Yuma smiled apologetically at him and Astral nodded, accepting it.

"I'm not sure what to say…" Haru spoke in slight disbelief. She rested her hand on top of Yuma's stomach, stroking her fingers back and forth.

"This child…" She inquired in a whisper. "Isn't human?"

Yuma smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

Haru covered her mouth and her eyes widened.

"Is this dangerous?"Yuma rolled his eyes. The usual question.

"Possibly." He didn't want to lie about it.

Haru made a sound of shock and terror, rising off of the floor and turning away. Kotori was quick to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Tsukumo. Astral will help make sure Yuma's okay." She assured.

Astral smiled slightly at the girl's acknowledgment of him. He floated down to face Yuma.

"Yuma, may we please pick up where we left off…in private?" Astral asked in a whisper.

Yuma nodded to his counterpart and turned to the women in the room.

"Can Astral and I talk alone for a bit, please?"

Haru and Akari eyed each other briefly before they were led out of the room by Kotori, who assured them she would do her best to answer any further questions.

"I'm sorry, Astral." Yuma apologized quietly.

Astral shook his head and offered the boy a comforting smile.

"No, no. Please, Yuma, if anyone should be sorry it should be _me_. You are in no condition to keep getting upset."Yuma smiled before his face turned serious. "What is it you wanted to tell me earlier, anyway?"Astral's face dropped. He hung his head and decided if he didn't tell Yuma the truth now it would be too late.

"Black Mist…" Was all Astral had to say as he watched Yuma's face quickly turn to an expression of terror.

"What?" The boy shouted. "What is he doing? What's going on, Astral?"

"He somehow was able to revive himself inside of the key. He's implanted a piece of himself inside of the child…" Astral trailed off quietly, his voice breaking as more tears threatened to return.

Yuma looked down at his stomach, grasping it with both hands.

"-No!" He responded in shock.

"I'm sorry I tried to convince you to get rid of it…I was trying to protect you." Astral spoke barely above a whisper, a single tear cascading down his cheek. "Black Mist is threatening to kill you and the child once you give birth. Remember what I said about how you may give birth…?"Yuma nodded and swallowed back his own tears, reaching up a hand to wipe tears from Astral's face.

A light sob tore from Yuma's throat and he looked desperately into Astral's eyes.

"Please, Astral…" He pleaded. "Please don't let him hurt the baby. I don't care about myself, just not my baby!" Yuma clung to his stomach, his fingertips pressing into his skin. "Can't you get the number out?"

Astral slowly shook his head. "I've tried. There's no way for me to retrieve the number. The only options are to abort or birth the child. And from what he's telling me, you're not going to survive the labor…"

Yuma clenched his eyes shut as he took in the information. He looked up at Astral again, another sob wrenching from his throat before he found the strength to speak.

"But will the baby still be alright…even if something happens to me?"

Astral searched his mind for an answer but couldn't find one. He was stunned by Yuma's bravery and devotion to his child's health and safety.

"That…I do not know."

"Will you take care of it for me?" The boy asked, barely above a whisper.

Astral nodded firmly, fighting to hold back more tears.

"I will."

"I love you, Astral." Yuma declared abruptly.

Astral lost the will to hold back his tears. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around the boy and never let him go, but he knew it was impossible.

"I love you, too, Yuma Tsukumo." He used the boy's full name as a means to assure him.

Yuma smiled at Astral through his sadness, his hands continuing to rub his stomach. After several minutes, Astral instructed him to sleep, and so he did. Astral could only watch helplessly as his young counterpart silently cried himself to sleep.

…

…

Whew! A nice long chapter for the best readers ever! Next chapter is going to get verrrrrry interesting, so I hope you're ready for it! Sorry if this one was a little depressing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, guys! Sorry for the little wait there, I've been working a lot! Thanks again for all your reviews! Anyway, last chapter I said this one was going to get interesting, and that's because this is the chapter you've all been waiting for…(I hope)…so, brace yourselves!

…

…

The room was quiet aside from the light ticking of the clock behind Yuma's head. He had fallen asleep for a little while, but his worried mind continued to distract him. Yuma sat up and carefully turned himself around to eye the time. 11:30 pm. He had slept longer than he thought. He scanned his tired eyes around the room only to realize that what he was looking for wasn't there anymore.

"Astral?" He called quietly into the dark.

Nothing. Yuma sighed sadly to himself, longing for his ethereal partner's company. He rested a hand on his stomach and lay back down, fighting with his wandering mind to try and go back to sleep.

"…_You can't do this…!"_

Yuma's eyes snapped open and he sat up again, his hand still on his stomach. Astral's voice continued to echo in his head and he grasped the key, which in his sleep had slipped beneath his nightshirt.

"Astral?" He called again in a whisper. His heart began to beat faster when he heard how distraught Astral sounded.

"_But I'm so. Very. Borrred."_ He heard another voice purr. A voice he easily recognized. Black Mist.

Yuma swallowed hard and began to panic. Why was he hearing this?

"_I told you to leave Yuma and the child alone!" _Astral cried from inside the key. "…_Please!"_

"_Please, please, please!" _Black Mist mocked in a childish voice. _"You are both so pathetic."_

Yuma gripped the key harder, its pointed edges digging into his skin.

"_Take me!" _Astral cried. _"Leave them alone! You can do whatever you wish with me, just leave my family alone!"_

Yuma's heart skipped a beat when he heard Astral call him and the baby his 'family'. He couldn't help but smile through his fear.

"_I'm tired of waiting." _Black Mist bit out viciously.

Yuma heard Astral respond, but his voice was growing muffled. His eyes wandered around the dark room as he struggled to figure out what to do.

Yuma ultimately decided that he needed to help Astral like he had before and transport himself inside of the key. He needed to confront Black Mist. He couldn't be afraid anymore.

Yuma took a deep breath and tightened his hold on the key even more. He concentrated his energy and his thoughts, and before he knew it, he opened his eyes and found himself once again standing in front of the open door: the entrance to the inside of the Emperor's Key. However, this time there was no voice. No wind. Just the open door and silence. Yuma hobbled his heavily pregnant body to the opening and entered the darkened abyss.

"Which would you prefer to watch?" Black Mist taunted to Astral. "Maybe…a slow, painful, torturous death for the boy, and then the child? Or, should I have the child rip itself out of his stomach? Go on, Astral, I'm open for suggestions."

Astral slowly shook his head, trying to convince himself that this was not happening. Black Mist was too impatient to wait another month for Yuma to birth the child. He wanted a premature birth, which would surely be even more dangerous for both Yuma and the baby.

"Please," Astral begged one last time. "Settle this score with _me_, not them."Black Mist rolled his eyes. "If I hear that one more time, I think I might gag myself." He said mockingly.

Astral watched as Black Mist's eyes suddenly turned mischievous and his mouth curved upward into a wicked smirk.

"Well, well, well," Black Mist began. "What have we _here_?" He raised a finger and pointed behind Astral.

Astral's expression turned confused and he spun himself around to face where Black Mist was pointing. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open in terror. He brought a hand slowly to his mouth and stared as Yuma approached the two of them, floating carefully through the thick blue fog.

"Yuma!" Astral screamed. "What are you doing? Get out of here!"

Yuma ignored his blue counterpart as he continued making his way towards the scene. His face held an expression similar to that of an animal stalking its prey as he eyed Black Mist maliciously.

He stopped when he got next to Astral, his eyes remaining on Black Mist. Astral quickly remembered that inside of the key he and Yuma could touch, and he quickly brought his hands to the boy's shoulders and began trying to pull him away.

"Yuma, please, get out of here!" He cried worriedly.

Yuma shrugged Astral's hands away.

"Here we are!" He yelled to Black Mist, his hand still on his stomach. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Black Mist's smirk quickly turned into a full smile. He suddenly began clapping.

"Bravo, little boy. I am impressed that you would have the courage to confront me."

"I'm not afraid of you." Yuma snapped.

Black Mist scoffed. "Really, now?"

Astral quickly gripped Yuma's hand with his own, trying to once again urge the boy to leave. Yuma ignored him again, but didn't let go of his hand. He squeezed Astral's hand tightly, assuring him he was not leaving, nor was he afraid. Astral returned the squeeze and interlocked their fingers.

Black Mist eyed the scene before him with fascination.

"How sweeeeet." He said playfully. "Too bad _you_ won't be around much longer." Black Mist pointed a finger towards Yuma.

"If you wanted to kill me so badly, why haven't you done it yet?" Yuma remarked.

Black Mist's eyes widened, as if he were impressed by that comment.

"Well," He began. "It's no fun killing you right away. I wanted to watch you suffer."Yuma adjusted his posture so he stood a bit straighter, his face remaining poised and confident. Astral was marveled by his bravery.

"You're not going to hurt _me_ or _our_ baby." Yuma emphasized, gesturing with his head towards Astral.

Black Mist's eyes began wandering in thought; they stopped when he settled for an idea he seemed fit.

"I'll tell you what, _Yuma_," He bit out the boy's name in disgust. "I'll spare the child if you're willing to give your life."

Astral's heart dropped and he swallowed hard. 'No, no, no!' He repeated in his head.

"Alright." Yuma agreed with no hesitation.

"-Yuma!" Astral cried in disbelief. He knew that Yuma had mentioned before that he would give his life for the child, but didn't think he was serious.

Black Mist shrugged. "If you say so."He brought up a hand and focused his energy, aiming it towards Yuma's midsection. At first Yuma felt nothing, but after a few seconds a sudden shock of pain shot through him and he collapsed to his knees.

"YUMA!" Astral screamed. In an instant he was by the boy's side.

Yuma whined and moaned in pain and anguish, grabbing blindly at his abdomen and clenching his eyes shut. He let out a scream that echoed throughout the darkened abyss of the key. Astral placed one hand on the boy's back and another on his stomach. He could feel the child kicking violently against Yuma's waist. Yuma suddenly doubled over onto his hands and knees and began gagging. Astral's heart was beating so fast it felt as though it would burst.

Astral grabbed Yuma by the shoulders and struggled to pull him backwards so he could lay on his back. Tears came to Astral's eyes as the boy began hyperventilating; choked breaths that contained a mixture of air and saliva. A sickening crack was heard and Yuma let out a scream so loud Astral cringed. Yuma had stopped writhing at that point, almost as though he had been paralyzed. His eyes were glazed and his mouth agape and Astral could've sworn he had stopped breathing.

Astral frantically felt for a pulse, a slight wave of relief settling over him when he felt the boy's heartbeat under his fingers. Astral suddenly felt Yuma latch onto his wrist as the boy began convulsing again.

"A-Astral!" Yuma choked between breaths. "Help me! _Help me, help me…h-"_ He trailed off in a dazed whisper.

Astral forced himself to swallow back his tears and help calm the boy. He gripped both of Yuma's hands with his own and shook them, trying to get his attention.

"Yuma!" He called. "It's alright, honey. Please, listen to me!" Astral chose to use a pet name he had heard the boy's grandmother use as a hopeful means to reassure him.

Black Mist watched the scene before him proudly, smiling to himself and crossing his arms. He snapped his finger and laughed wickedly as Yuma began screaming.

Yuma tore his hands from Astral's grasp and dug his fingers into his stomach as the clawing he had felt before returned, only this time with much more fervor. He could feel his insides being torn apart and another crack was heard as the child kicked violently against his ribcage. Another kick hit against his spine and his vision speckled. Tears coursed in streams down the boy's face as he suddenly began to feel ill. Yuma rolled onto his side and began throwing up, Astral quickly moving his body out of the way. The alien's mouth dropped open as he noted that the crimson red color of the vomit was by no means normal.

Astral moved to Yuma's other side as he watched the boy's eyelids begin to droop. He scrubbed one hand through Yuma's hair and rested the other on his chest.

"Yuma, stay with me, honey. Stay with me…!" Astral urged softly and ran his thumb across Yuma's forehead as the boy fought to stay conscious.

"It hurts…!" Yuma sobbed desperately.

"I know," Astral spoke as calmly as he could. "I know, sweetie, just hang on!" Another nickname picked up from Haru.

Yuma latched his hand onto Astral's forearm and smiled up at him, admiring the affection. He was able to ignore his agony briefly as Astral leaned down and kissed him, a tear from the spirit's face dripping onto his. They broke apart and Yuma was still smiling. He reached up another hand and rubbed it over Astral's face.

"I love you, Astral." Yuma whispered.

Astral removed Yuma's hand from his face and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly before giving it a squeeze.

"I love you, too." He replied heartedly.

"Take care of the baby, okay?" Yuma instructed.

Astral sucked in his tears and nodded. This really was the end. He felt Yuma's grip on his arm relax and drop to the ground, completely limp.

Everything grew silent as Astral eyed Yuma's pale body. His vision focused on the boy's stomach as he noticed there was something poking its way through the boy's nightshirt. Astral's eyes widened in terror and he raised the fabric. While the duo was kissing, the child was clawing its way out of Yuma's stomach. This fact horrified Astral to no end.

Remembering his promise to Yuma, he carefully aided the child in its delivery, trying to ignore the gaping hole that was once the boy's stomach. He cradled the child in his arms and began to admire it. The baby really was a miniature version of himself. Astral couldn't help but smile through his heartbreak as he gently tried to remove some of the blood from the child's blue skin.

"It's alright. Daddy's here." Astral whispered tearfully, stroking a finger across the child's forehead. The baby cooed softly until it suddenly began crying. Astral rocked it gently in his arms, cradling the child's head against his chest.

"Ah, that was even better than I thought!"

Astral's head snapped upwards and he glared daggers at Black Mist.

"You killed him!" He cried. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

Black Mist shrugged. "Oh, please. He said that's what he wanted."

"You…you _monster_." Astral spat.

Black Mist nodded in approval. He _was_ a monster.

"I don't suppose you'll be letting me babysit, eh, Astral?" Black Mist questioned jokingly.

Astral gently set the child on the ground next to Yuma. He balled his hands into fists and slowly floated his way towards his evil twin.

"You're going to pay for this!" He threatened through gritted teeth.

Black Mist smiled devilishly.

"Cash or charge?"Astral suddenly surged forward, but Black Mist quickly retaliated by lashing out a tentacle, which Astral had to duck to avoid. The spirits continued to fight this way until Astral felt his energy winding down, his emotions from earlier draining him. He sulked against one of the gears of the key's machine, panting heavily and once again on the verge of tears. A thought suddenly entered his head.

'Hope…'

Astral quickly tried to focus his energy; a gold glow on his hands indicated that he had achieved success. He smiled to himself and spun around to face Black Mist.

"Hope, come forth!" Astral cried.

Black Mist halted himself as he was about to lash out another tentacle.

"W-what?" He whispered to himself. "No!"

Astral stood proudly before his monster. He smiled up at the number, who nodded down at the spirit confidently. Astral needn't say no more as Hope immediately took over, spinning his sword in his hands and charging towards 96 at full speed. Black Mist barely had time to react and reached out another tentacle only for Hope to quickly slice it in half. Black Mist pulled his arm back in shock and stared up at the number in horror.

Astral watched his evil counterpart's final moments with satisfaction. The atmosphere turned silent again, Hope staring down at his master, awaiting another command.

"Thank you." Astral said quietly. He bowed his head in grief, tears coming to his eyes as all of his emotions returned. A light crying registered in his ears and he floated back over to his child, sitting on the ground next to Yuma's body and cradling the child against his chest. Hope watched the scene in unspeakable sadness until an idea of his own came to him…

"Shh," Astral cooed to the baby, bouncing it lightly. "I'm here. Everything's going to be okay…"

Astral tried his best to comfort his child amidst his own grief. He stroked his hand through the child's hair before running it over its face, making the baby giggle slightly. Astral couldn't help but smile. He had never felt a more complex mixture of pride and sorrow. The moment was suddenly interrupted by a weak whisper.

"…Astral?"

…

…

Whew! Okay, _that_ was the longest chapter ever! I was literally going "I AM A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PERSON" while I was typing this. I said this chapter would be interesting because I didn't want to spoil that it was the birth chapter! I'm sorry if it was really gross and sad, but it's not like I didn't warn you! I hope none of you thought I was actually going to let Yuma die. I could never do that! Well, the fic is winding down now, which means there's only a few more chapters to go! I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time!


	9. Chapter 9

Hello, readers! Thanks for all the reviews from last chapter! I think that was the most I've ever gotten for one chapter. Anyway, I didn't want to keep you waiting for the next chapter so here goes!

…

…

"…Astral?" Yuma whispered.

Astral looked up from the baby and eyed Yuma's body. Yuma slowly turned his head towards the spirit and blinked his dazed eyes, weakly extending a hand out to him.

Astral secured the baby against his chest with his left arm and grasped Yuma's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Yuma! Yuma, can you hear me?" He called.

Yuma squinted his eyes shut and nodded, his other hand reaching for his critically wounded stomach. Astral tried his best not to look as a rather heavy amount of blood still flowed from the boy. Yuma pressed his hand against his waist and then brought it to his face, examining the blood that covered his fingers. He let out a groan and his head lulled limply to the side, away from Astral, his eyes remaining closed.

Astral panicked and crawled over to Yuma's other side, the baby still in his arms. He looked upwards towards Hope, who seemed to be glowing. Astral watched in amazement as the monster sent a stream of energy towards the boy, which slowly began threading the skin of his midsection back together.

"You - you're _saving_ him…!" Astral whispered to the number in shock and relief. He watched in fascination as Hope stitched Yuma's body back together. Yuma clenched his hands in pain and continued to groan as his body was repaired. Hope tried to make it as painless as possible for him, but in order to save him this was not an option.

Astral gripped Yuma's hand gently with his unoccupied hand, the other tightening its hold on the baby. He smiled up at Hope, who nodded at him in reassurance. The stream of magic suddenly ended and Astral shook his head in disbelief as he saw that Yuma's stomach was mostly back to normal, aside from a rather large scar across the middle. His hand let go of Yuma's and he ran it through the boy's hair.

Yuma opened his eyes and smiled up at him. Astral smiled back, tears coming to his eyes.

" - Yuma…" Astral began. He was at a loss for words. Instead, he turned towards Hope.

"Thank you…" He whispered, heartfelt. "Thank you so much."

Hope bowed to his master and slowly vanished, leaving the three of them alone in silence.

Astral looked down at Yuma again and began to cry; tears of joy and relief flowing freely from him and yet he did nothing to stop them. He heard Yuma sigh slightly.

"Where's my baby?" The boy whispered weakly, still a bit dazed.

"Right here, honey. Right here…" Astral adjusted the child in his arms so Yuma could see.

Yuma eyed his baby with love and joy; the smile on his face was the biggest Astral had ever seen. Yuma sat up slightly, propping himself up on his right arm to get a better look. He reached up his left hand and stroked it across the child's face, which sent the baby into a fit of giggles. Yuma smiled proudly and laughed, leaning down to kiss the child's forehead.

Astral joined Yuma in his observation of the child, whom he already knew was a carbon copy of himself. However, one thing Astral had failed to notice before was the lack of blue gems pasted to the child's body. He recalled a brief memory that explained that Astral beings who did not have the gems were female…

"You're a girl…" Astral whispered to the child, chuckling to himself.

"Hm?" Yuma questioned.

Astral looked down at him and grinned happily.

"It's a girl, Yuma."

Yuma's eyes lit up and he sat up completely, ignoring the soreness in his stomach.

"How do you know?"

Astral pointed to the gems covering his own body, then gestured towards the baby.

"Female Astral beings do not have the gems. See?"

"You're right." Yuma responded with fascination. The couple shared a moment of comfortable silence as they observed their baby. Suddenly, she began to cry, which alarmed Yuma. He reached out his arms and Astral handed the child over to him.

"Oh, sweetheart. Don't cry. Daddy's here." Yuma whispered lovingly. He rested his forehead against hers and kissed her nose, which quickly silenced her tears. She reached out a hand and poked lightly at her father's face. The touching scene brought more tears to Astral's eyes.

Yuma noticed his partner's emotional state and frowned.

"Are you okay, Astral?" He whispered.

Astral smiled and nodded, gently rubbing a finger over the boy's face.

"I'm just…so _happy_." Astral emphasized. "So happy you're alright. So happy…to be sharing all of this with you." He gestured to their daughter.

Yuma leaned his head onto Astral's shoulder. Astral rested his head on top of Yuma's, pressing a kiss onto his scalp. More silence passed between the new family as they continued to admire their baby. She cooed and gurgled joyfully, her fingers drawing playful circles onto Yuma's skin.

A thought entered Astral's head.

"Yuma," He began. "We have yet to name her…"

Yuma didn't need any time to think.

"Hope." He answered. "I want to name her Hope."

Astral smiled and nodded in approval. Yuma adjusted himself so his back was against Astral's chest, his head remaining on his shoulder. Astral pressed light kisses onto his neck and Yuma sighed in content.

"I love you." Astral whispered into Yuma's ear, tickling him slightly. Yuma giggled and turned his head to look up at him.

"I love you, too."

Hope poked a finger against Yuma's chest, her other hand stuffed into her mouth as she continued to gurgle and drool.

Yuma laughed. "Love you too, my sweet girl." He said quietly.

Astral smiled in agreement and reached around Yuma to tickle Hope's feet. The baby squealed with delight and burst into a fit of giggles. Tears of joy and pride came to Yuma's eyes and he relaxed against Astral.

"Perhaps we should leave the key now?" Astral suggested after a decent amount of time had passed. "Your family is probably very worried.""I forgot we were still in the key!" Yuma said with a laugh.

"I think we should get you out of here." Astral said, scooting himself around to face Yuma.

"But if I leave then I can't touch you." Yuma whined, his hand running over his blue partner's face.

Astral smiled guiltily. "Don't worry, we can come back here whenever we want. For now, I think it is only right to introduce Hope to the rest of her family…"

Yuma caught on and smiled. He nodded at Astral and closed his eyes, his arms tightly gripping Hope's tiny body. The duo carefully focused their energy until the room turned white, then black, then into nothing.

Yuma opened his eyes and found himself lying on his bed, Hope still cradled in his arms. He was greeted by the sight of bright sunshine beaming in through the window and could hear his sister and grandmother talking in the distance, both presumably believing Yuma to still be asleep. He sighed with relief and stood off of his bed, carrying his daughter downstairs to meet her aunt and great grandmother.

Akari heard footsteps on the floor above and ran to assist her brother down the stairs. When she reached him she was greeted by a sight that made her gasp and scream in shock and alarm.

"YUMA!" She cried, running towards him and gripping him by the arm. "How did-? What did-? What happened! GRANDMA!"Yuma quietly tried to calm his sister until Haru came bustling up the stairs with a similar reaction. Yuma face-palmed himself and roller his eyes.

"Guys, GUYS! It's okay. I'm fine." He reassured. Both women ignored him and continued to panic.

Haru's hands shot to her face. "You - you gave _birth_ up here? Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you call us? Oh, honey, we need to get you to the hospital-!"

Akari noticed the stitched gash across her brother's stomach and brought a hand to her mouth.

"Oh. My-!" She swallowed hard and turned to Haru who was also still in shock.

It wasn't until after a few minutes that both women noticed the baby, which wouldn't have been as big of a deal if it didn't look like _that_.

Akari reached a hand towards the child but quickly pulled it away.

"Oh my word!" She cried in shock. "You weren't kidding! What on earth _is_ that thing?"Yuma's eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"Hey! This _thing_ happens to be my daughter!"Akari's facial expression switched back and forth between shock and disgust. She began pacing around in circles, gesticulating her arms wildly.

"Did _he_ do this to you?" Akari yelled, pointing to Yuma's stomach.

"No, he didn't!" Yuma quickly retaliated, defending Astral.

"Then how did it happen?"Yuma refused to explain the real story.

"It's a long story, okay? Astral and I went into the key and I had the baby _there_."Akari's hands shot to her hips. "But you weren't ready to give birth yet! You still had another month!"

"So what?" Yuma retorted. "She was ready and she came out. There wasn't really anything I could do about it."

"So she just _ripped_ herself out of your stomach?" Akari fumed.

Yuma chose to lie. "No! Like I said, it's a long story. _Astral_ helped me give birth to her."

Haru crossed her arms and sighed as her grandchildren continued to quarrel. She suddenly heard a light crying and eyed the baby in Yuma's arms sympathetically. After a few more instants of the siblings arguing, the light crying turned into full fledged howling.

Yuma quickly stopped fighting with his sister and began bouncing Hope gently, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back.

"Shh," He whispered. "It's okay, Hope. Daddy didn't mean to yell. Please don't cry…"

Yuma walked back into his room and sat on his bed, resting his daughter against his chest and continuing to rub her back and talk gently with her. Haru followed her grandson into his room and sat down on the bed next to him, smiling with pride and amazement at how he was handling the situation. She looked up at Akari, who was standing in the doorway still staring in shock, and smiled.

After a few moments Akari entered the room, albeit zombie-like. She sat on the bed next to Yuma opposite her grandmother.

"What did you call her?" Akari questioned lightly.

"Hope." Yuma responded, his eyes not leaving his baby. "That's her name."

Akari's eyes flickered briefly to her grandmother, who was gently toying with the little girl's fingers.

"How do you know it's a girl?" Akari asked.

Yuma looked up at his sister and smiled.

"You wouldn't understand, trust me. You'd have to see Astral in order to get it." He answered with a laugh. Akari laughed back. She was still confused, but her anger was slowly diminishing.

"She's beautiful," Haru commented sweetly, rubbing a hand up and down Yuma's back.

"You wanna hold her, grandma?" Yuma suggested.

Haru's eyes lit up. "Yes!"

Yuma carefully passed his daughter off to his grandmother, smiling as the baby cooed quietly. Haru conversed softly with her, stroking a hand lightly through her spiky hair.

"She doesn't look much like you, dear." Haru joked.

"Yeah, yeah." Yuma laughed.

The family enjoyed their time with their newest member. Akari groaned hesitantly when the baby was passed to her, but she quickly relaxed and began talking and playing with her niece quietly. Haru kissed Yuma's cheek and gently stroked the spikes on the back of his neck.

"I know I've said this a lot lately, but I'm so very proud of you, honey." Haru said.

Yuma smiled and laughed lightly. _That's_ where Astral got the 'honey' from.

"Thanks, grandma.""Is her father here?" Haru asked, meaning Astral.

Yuma looked around the room and was surprised to see Astral floating behind them against the wall. His hands were laced together and resting against his midsection whilst his legs were crossed slightly. He was smiling brightly. It was a completely different Astral than the one Yuma knew before and this made him smile.

"Yeah, he's here." Yuma gestured with his head behind them.

Haru nodded. "I think we should leave the new parents alone for a bit. What do you think, Akari?"

Akari nodded in agreement and passed her niece back to her father. The women both kissed Yuma and Hope gently before exiting the room and closing the door. Yuma turned to Astral and smiled up at him.

"How long have you been there?" He asked.

Astral closed his eyes and chuckled.

"The whole time. I was just being quiet to give you some time with your family.""You're my family, too." Yuma said, motioning for Astral to join him on the bed. The blue spirit floated down and sat next to him. Yuma watched as Astral reached out a hand to touch his daughter but quickly pulled it away. Yuma frowned at this and encouraged Astral to try again.

"Just because you can't touch me doesn't mean you can't touch her." Yuma implored. "Try."

Astral reached his hand out again and his eyes widened in surprise when he felt his hand connect with Hope's skin. Tears came to the alien's eyes and a noise of delight exited his mouth, completely out of character for the normally stoic spirit. Yuma surrendered the child to Astral and he cradled her gratefully in his arms, showering her with kisses. It was Yuma's turn to cry as he was completely touched by the scene before him.

"I love you, Astral." He whispered.

Astral briefly tore his eyes away from his daughter's to meet Yuma's.

"I love you, too."…

…

Okay, there's chapter 9! Yay..! The baby has a name…and a gender…which is something that took me quite a while to think up. I was like, 'Hmm…what could be the difference between the male and female Astral's?' So, there you go. The next chapter is going to be the last, which makes me a bit sad, but, all good things must come to an end, right? So, I'll see you guys then!


	10. Chapter 10

Hey, all! Sorry for the little lack of update there, I got busy! Without further ado, here's the final chapter!

…

…

"Peek - a - boo! _Peek - a - booooo!"_

Loud giggles erupted from the attic of the Tsukumo household as Kotori entertained little Hope, who was officially one month old today. Haru and Akari had gone grocery shopping and Kotori had come over to visit Yuma.

"Aw, Hope, you're so sweet!" Kotori cooed in a childish voice, tickling the baby's feet as Hope lay on a blanket on the living room floor, which was littered with the little girl's assortment of colorful toys.

Yuma was upstairs taking a bath and enjoying a brief moment of peace. He cherished his daughter's company but couldn't refuse Kotori's offer to tend to the baby for a bit while he relaxed.

"Who's a pretty baby? You are! Yes you arrrreee..!" Kotori continued playfully, leaning over to blow raspberries on the child's tummy, which sent her into another fit of laughter. Hope reached over and pulled the ribbon from Kotori's hair, twirling it around with her tiny fingers.

"Okay, okay, you can keep it!" Kotori laughed, shaking her now messy hair out and laying down flat on her stomach next to Hope.

Floating in the back of the room was Astral, who watched the scene before him with admiration. He was grateful for Kotori's hospitality and knew that someday Hope would consider her somewhat of a surrogate mother. This comforted Astral greatly; he knew that if anything ever happened to him that Yuma would have someone to help him take care of Hope.

The soft sound of footsteps started upstairs and Kotori's eyes brightened.

"Hope!" She cried joyfully. "I think daddy's coming!"

Hope squealed with delight at the mention of her father, which made the smile on Astral's face even bigger. He focused his attention on the stairs as sure enough Yuma was beginning to make his way down, appearing relaxed and refreshed, dressed in his pajamas.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Yuma joked, joining Kotori on the floor next to his daughter.

"Nothing much," Kotori responded. "Just playing. I think she missed you!"

Hope reached her arms out to her father and wiggled her fingers, encouraging him to pick her up. Yuma laughed and did just that, nestling the little girl gently against his chest.

"Hey, pretty girl." He whispered to her softly. "I told you I'd be right back!"

Astral smiled and floated a bit closer, standing firm behind the couch but not wanting to disturb the scene before him. He continued to smile as Yuma pressed soft kisses to their daughter's face, whispering words of love and comfort to her. Astral had been very impressed by Yuma's parenting; the normally rambunctious boy was always so calm and endearing. He hardly ever lost his temper anymore. He was always smiling. Astral loved the fact that Hope had brought such joy into Yuma's life. She took away his pain and his sadness.

Yuma sighed happily and rested his back against the couch, Hope still clutched firmly in his arms.

"Man, I feel so lucky!" He said, a bit out of nowhere. "Hope is the best baby in the world. She doesn't need to eat, she doesn't need to be changed. This is a breeze!"

Kotori laughed. "You _are_ lucky! I'm sure lots of parents would love to have Astral beings as babies!"

Yuma laughed and nodded. Astral laughed too. Yuma heard him and turned around, smiling.

"Hey, Astral! How long have you been there?"

Astral shrugged. "Only a little while. I was watching Kotori play with Hope while you were upstairs."

Kotori watched in amusement as Yuma conversed with his ethereal partner. She noticed how Hope was also seemingly staring up at thin air, but with a jovial expression on her face. Kotori concluded she was staring at Astral and this made her smile. Once their conversation finished, Kotori asked:"I know that you can't touch Astral, Yuma, but what about Hope?"

Yuma winked up at the blue spirit and nodded to Kotori.

"Yup! He sure can."

Kotori felt her heart sink with relief; she was worried that Astral wouldn't be able to interact with his own child.

"I'm glad." She said with a smile, looking up to where she thought Astral was and smiling at him as well. Astral looked down at her and their eyes met although Kotori didn't know it. He smiled back.

The room grew silent as the group admired Hope, who had fallen asleep in Yuma's arms with her face gently pressed into his chest. He stroked her cheek softly with his finger, running it over her cheekbone and then tapping her lightly on the nose. She smiled in her sleep and Yuma chuckled to himself.

"I thought Astral beings didn't sleep?" Kotori questioned.

"That's what I said to Astral, but he said that as they age they build up more energy. Hope is just a baby, so she's not strong enough to keep herself awake."

Kotori nodded in understanding. "They are quite fascinating creatures!" She cried.

Astral tipped his head and nodded in approval. Yuma saw him and laughed.

"Astral agrees!" He joked. Kotori laughed along with him.

"So, when do you think you'll be ready to go back to school?" Kotori asked.

Yuma furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at Hope sadly.

"Soon, I guess. But I really don't want to…"

"Everybody misses you…" Kotori reassured.

Yuma rested a hand on top of his daughter's head. It would pain him so much to have to leave her.

"They still don't know…?" Yuma wondered.

Kotori shook her head. She had promised Yuma she wouldn't share the news about the baby without his permission.

"Do you want them to?" Kotori asked. "I mean, I'm sure we can trust Tetsuo."

"Yeah, Tetsuo, maybe, but not everyone else." Yuma stated firmly. It wasn't that he ashamed of his current situation, he was just fearful of potentially endangering his daughter.

Kotori tilted her head in confusion, which Yuma took as a sign to explain.

Yuma sighed before answering. "If too many people find out, then it could get back to Kaito, and then…who _knows_ what could happen. I don't want him to hurt her."

Kotori nodded in understanding. She had never even thought about that.

"She's going to be kinda hard to hide, though, don't you think?" Kotori said.

Yuma's eyes trailed off as he thought. He didn't want _anyone_ to know about this, and that was the bottom line. He clenched his eyes shut as he thought of all that he had gone through just to deliver Hope safely. He had nearly _died_, which as of now no one but Astral knew about. He turned back to Kotori.

"I'll figure something out," he answered her quietly. "Don't worry."

Yuma suddenly stood off of the floor, Hope still in his arms. He wandered off into the kitchen to be alone with her as his emotions quickly began to overcome him. He looked down at Hope and admired her with love, his lips curling upward into a gentle smile as a tear made its way down his cheek. He reached up a finger to wipe it away before it dripped onto his daughter's perfect face. Yuma leaned down to press his forehead against hers, which woke her. She blinked up at him with tired golden eyes and he smiled down at her.

"Don't you worry, baby girl." He whispered. "Daddy won't let anything happen to you. Ever. I promise…"

Yuma leaned down to kiss Hope's forehead and she rubbed her nose against his lovingly. Yuma laughed to himself and began to swing his body back and forth softly, rocking her gently back to sleep.

"I love you, Hope." He said, gazing into his daughter's eyes as hers slowly began to close. Yuma continued to rock her, cherishing the precious moment he and his beloved little girl were sharing together.

…

…

Haru stood in front of the stove slowly stirring a pot of soup and enjoying a peaceful evening at home with her little granddaughter, who was seated in her highchair at the kitchen table.

"It's a shame you don't have to eat, sweetheart. I would love for you to try some of grandma's special soup!" Haru joked to the little girl, who giggled in response and held out her hands as if to ask her grandmother for a sample.

"Oh, no, dear," Haru laughed. "I don't know if it's a good idea for me to try to feed you anything! I don't want to make you sick."

Haru placed a lid on top of the pot and moved to sit down at the table next to Hope. She sipped briefly on a cup of tea before resuming her position in front of the stove, Hope intently watching her every move.

"You like watching grandma cook, don't you?" Haru questioned with a laugh.

Hope clapped her hands in response, a sound of delight escaping her.

Haru admired her with a smile.

"So did your daddy when he was your age." She said. "He doesn't like to watch as much anymore, he just likes to eat!"

Hope giggled and Haru laughed along with her. She tickled the little girl's nose with her fingers playfully.

"Oh, aren't you just precious!" Haru cooed to her.

Hope squinted her eyes and laughed, stuffing her thumb into her mouth and gurgling away. Haru chuckled as she listened to the baby mumble to herself.

"You're quite the talker, aren't you? Just like your daddy." Hope responded with a muffled laugh, her thumb still planted firmly in her mouth. It always brought her great joy whenever someone mentioned Yuma.

"I'm home!" Akari declared as she entered the front door, a stack of papers in her hand.

"Good evening, dear." Haru chirped. "How was work?"

"Ugh." Akari moaned. "Boring! Nothing interesting at all happened today."

Akari then noticed her niece seated beside the table and she clasped her hands together joyfully.

"Hi there, princess!" She cried sweetly, approaching the little girl and lightly poking her on the nose, which sent Hope into another fit of giggles. Akari then frowned and scanned the room quickly.

"Grandma, where's Yuma?"

Haru smiled to herself as she continued to tend to her soup.

"He's with Astral. He asked if they could have a little 'date' night tonight."

Akari's eyes widened.

"…Where are they?" She wondered. Haru didn't answer and instead continued to laugh to herself.

…

…

"Aw, man! Sparkling grape? I thought I bought Sparkling Cider! Darn it!"

"Does it matter…?"

"The cider is way better."

"It does not matter to me. I cannot drink it either way."

Yuma gruffly pulled at the cork on top of the bottle of grape juice, finally giving up on his hands and gripping it with his teeth.

Astral chuckled. "Would you like me to assist you?"

Yuma frowned and wordlessly passed the bottle to his partner, who opened it effortlessly and passed it back to him with a smirk.

"Jerk." Yuma joked, pouring himself a glass.

"This is what people do on a so-called 'romantic evening'?" Astral wondered.

Yuma shrugged. "Well, I'm too young to drink wine, so, yeah!"

Astral nodded slowly. "How did you get all of that in here with you?" He asked, pointing to the bottle and the other assortment of goodies Yuma had transported into the Emperor's Key.

"A _lot_ of concentration…" Yuma replied, tapping his temple for emphasis and smiling proudly.

Astral laughed through his nose and leaned back onto his arms. The thick, blue air inside of the key was gently blowing about them whilst the machine in the background ticked quietly. It wasn't a very romantic setting, but to Astral and Yuma it was a blessing to be able to have a place where they could interact with each other.

Astral bent forward and reached for a strawberry off of the tray that Yuma had brought into the key with him. He dipped it into the bowel of chocolate beside it and raised it to Yuma's mouth.

"May I?" He inquired. Yuma nodded.

"Please!"

Yuma opened his mouth and Astral brought the fruit to his lips. He bit down on it and pulled a piece off with his teeth, laughing as some of the chocolate dripped onto his collarbone. Yuma eyed Astral a bit seductively and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. Astral quickly took the hint.

"Let me get that for you…" The alien whispered in a voice that made Yuma shiver. Astral leaned forward and ran his tongue across the boy's skin, removing the small chocolate drop. He sat back and smacked his lips.

"Mmm…" He murmured softly. Yuma laughed.

"What tastes better?" Yuma wondered. "Me, or the chocolate?"Astral grinned evilly.

"You. Definitely you."Yuma blushed and bowed his head in embarrassment. Astral brought a hand to his chin and raised it back up. They gazed into each other's eyes lovingly until Astral lessoned the distance between them, connecting his lips with Yuma's and kissing him tenderly. Yuma slid his hands around Astral's neck as Astral pressed his into Yuma's lower back. The need for air caused them to break away.

"I love you, Astral." Yuma panted, his voice breathy.

Astral offered his love a smile, pressing another kiss to his forehead sweetly.

"I love you, too, Yuma."

The couple connected their foreheads together, eyes closed, absorbing the tender moment. Astral heard Yuma laugh to himself.

"What is it?" The blue spirit questioned with a smile.

Yuma smirked. "Oh, nothing…" He joked in a sing-song voice.

Astral cocked his head and grinned. "What?"

"I was just thinking that…we should try to have another one someday…"Astral frowned. "Another one…?"Yuma nodded. "Yeah."

Astral's eyes wandered in thought.

"You mean…another _baby_?"

Yuma's nodding increased and he smiled softly.

Astral smiled back and thumbed the boy's cheek gently.

"Well, let's get started now, shall we?"Astral pushed him down onto his back, attacking his face and neck with kisses as Yuma laughed wildly, the sensations tickling him. He dug his hands into Astral's hair as the spirit brought his lips to his own, kissing him tenderly. Astral settled himself between Yuma's legs as they continued to kiss and laugh. There was no one else of earth that Astral would rather share this life with other then Yuma. His love for the boy and their daughter brought such joy into his life; a joy he knew he never would have found otherwise. Astral cherished all of his memories: the old ones he was fighting to remember, but more importantly the new ones he shared with Yuma.

…

…Annnnd it ends! Just before some Yuma and Astral sexy-time. Well, I certainly hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it! I've been contemplating a sequel to this fic, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do, so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to put them out there! I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm looking forward to writing more fics for you guys soon! Until then, much love and thanks for reading!


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